Consumption and exchange in Early Modern Cambodia: NAA of brown-glaze stoneware from Longvek, 15th-17th centuries.

• Main Authors: Martin Polkinghorne, Catherine Amy Morton, Amy Roberts, Rachel S Popelka-Filcoff, Yuni Sato, Voeun Vuthy, Pariwat Thammapreechakorn, Attila Stopic, Peter Grave, Don Hein, Leng Vitou
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2019-01-01
• Series: PLoS ONE
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0216895

An evaluation of the geochemical characteristics of 102 storage jar sherds by k0-neutron activation analysis (k0-NAA) from archaeological contexts in Cambodia and reference samples from stoneware production centres in Thailand provides a new perspective on regional and global trade in mainland Southeast Asia. Identification of seven geochemical groups enables distinctions between production centres, and articulation of their role in trade between northern and central Thailand, South China and Cambodia. Storage jars from Thailand and South China are known in archaeological contexts worldwide because of their durability and intrinsic functional and cultural values. Evidenced by a novel application of k0-NAA, analogous stoneware sherds at Longvek connect the Cambodian capital to a global trading network. Additional proof of ceramics from an undocumented Cambodian kiln demonstrates the gradual and complex transition between the Angkorian past and the Early Modern period.